9 years ago
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Sniffing out origins of methane: instrument identifies methane's origins in mines, deep-sea vents, and cows
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide in its capacity to trap heat in Earth's atmosphere for a long time. The gas can originate from lakes and swamps, natural-gas pipelines, deep-sea vents, and livestock. Understanding the sources of methane, and how the gas is formed, could give scientists a better understanding of its role in warming the planet.
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Methane has 21 times the capacity to warm the planet over CO2. Atmospheric concentrations of the gas have dropped since 2005, 3-11% in the U.S.(dependent on source). The correlation of temperature change to atmospheric methane concentrations is much more discernible than to that of CO2.